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Who
We Are
The Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage
(CAHC) is a broad-based coalition that came together because
of a strong common desire to address the issue of the uninsured
by increasing access to private sector health insurance. Our
members include physician groups, business groups, insurance
carriers, insurance brokers, consumer groups and others who
believe that affordability of coverage is the most basic component
of access to health care. We believe Congress has a unique
opportunity to take action to significantly reduce the number
of the uninsured, and we hope to serve as a resource in their
efforts to do so.
What We Believe
The members of the Coalition believe that the number of Americans lacking health insurance is simply too high. We also understand that people lack coverage for different reasons. Consequently, CAHC members believe that a variety of approaches will be necessary in order to address these different causes.
Based on how the marketplace works and the characteristics of those who are uninsured, we believe that the implementation of health care tax credits and other market-oriented efforts such as Health Savings Accounts and tax deductibility for individual coverage will make health insurance more accessible and affordable to a significant portion of the uninsured.
We start from the premise that it is critical
for as many of the uninsured to
access to affordable private insurance. The private
marketplace allows individuals and families to evaluate the
variety of options available to them and decide what is best
for their personal and unique needs.
Goals and Objectives
The specific purposes for which the Coalition
for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) is organized are to
promote the enactment of:
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Tax credits or deductions directed
to individuals and families for the purchase of private
health insurance; and |
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Other market-oriented
approaches to extending private health insurance
coverage to the uninsured.
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What We Do
Over the past few years, President Bush
and Members of Congress have put forth numerous proposals
to increase access to health insurance through tax credits
and tax deductions. As seen in recent surveys, a consensus
along these lines is increasingly evident among the general
public as well: 73% of those recently surveyed favor proposals
now in Congress to provide tax credits or tax deductions as
a means to allow uninsured Americans to purchase private health
insurance.*
CAHC works to forge a realistic consensus
among those who support a tax incentive approach, and to educate
Members of Congress and their staffs on the value of tax credits
and other market-based approaches. CAHC works to meet our
objectives by holding regular briefings on Capitol Hill to
communicate proposals for the uninsured to policy-makers. We also provide publications
for research and reference on these issues. With our broad
base of Coalition members, CAHC has a wealth of practical
and industry expertise to provide to policy-makers as they
seek to enact legislation to help the nation’s uninsured.
In short, CAHC attempts to facilitate a “meeting of
the minds” between public policy officials and key private-sector
stakeholders that will yield positive results for the nation’s
uninsured.
It is the broad, diverse participation that
brings significance to the Coalition and its recommendations
for ways to approach the access issues with health insurance.
CAHC members represent a multitude of industries and concerns
ranging from business and health care to agriculture and skilled
labor, yet we have been able to agree on the need for private
sector initiatives to address the growing problem of the uninsured.
*Source: Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard
School of Public Health Survey, Health Care Agenda for the
New Congress, November 2004.
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